Recycling makes cents

Tonight at my public speaking class, I gave a talk on the importance of humor in raising a family. A few years ago, I sold a story on a similar topic to a local lifestyle magazine. A part of this story was also published in a college alumni publication.

This is called “recycling” story ideas. You have an idea about a subject, do some research on it, then find ways to use it over and over again. This is not illegal or wrong. No one says you can only use a piece you’ve written one time. A lot of writers have learned it is smarter not to sell “All Rights”. Instead, they sell only One-Time rights and continue to have control of the material for possible future sales.

One Christmas story I wrote has been published 22 times. This is perfectly legal since I have never given away All Rights to this story. I can publish it as long as I want in its original form.

So the next time you research a writing or speaking topic, think about how you might be able to recycle your material, thus saving you time and effort. Recycling makes cents!

Take care